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CIRCULAR No. 134/2004/TT-BTC OF DECEMBER 31, 2004 GUIDING THE REGIME OF COLLECTION, REMITTANCE, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FEES TO BE APPLIED AT FOREIGN-BASED VIETNAMESE DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULATES

Pursuant to the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Charge and Fee Ordinance No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 of August 28, 2001;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002 detailing the implementation the Charge and Fee Ordinance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 189/HDBT of June 4, 1992 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) detailing the implementation of the Consular Ordinance;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 185/2003/QD-TTg annulling the Prime Minister’s regulations on reallocation and reinvestment of the State budget revenues as from the 2004 budgetary year;

The Finance Ministry hereby guides the regime of collection, remittance, management and use of fees to be applied at the foreign-based Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates (hereinafter referred collectively to as the consular fees) as follows:

I. FEE PAYERS

1. Vietnamese as well as foreign organizations and individuals, that are provided with services in the State management domain at their own requests or under the provisions of law by foreign-based diplomatic missions or consulates of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, shall have to pay fees as prescribed in this Circular.

2. This Circular shall not regulate the following cases:

a/ Foreigners being guests (including their accompanying spouses and/or children) invited by the Party, the National Assembly, the State and the Government or by the leaders of the Party, the National Assembly, the State and the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in their personal capacity.

b/ Officials, administrative and technical staffs (including their spouses and minor children) of foreign diplomatic missions and consulates and international organizations, who enjoy privileges and immunities.

c/ Foreigners bearing diplomatic or official passports issued by foreign countries, on the principle of reciprocity.

d/ Foreigners exempt from the consular fees under treaties or agreements signed between the Vietnamese Government and foreign governments or organizations.

e/ Foreigners being citizens of the countries, which have not yet signed treaties or agreements with Vietnam but have unilaterally given visa fee exemption to Vietnamese citizens bearing diplomatic, official or general passports, shall also be exempt from the visa fee on the principle of reciprocity.

f/ Foreigners entering Vietnam to carry out relief work or humanitarian assistance for Vietnamese organizations and/or individuals.

g/ Subjects eligible for the consular fee exemption applicable to cases of external relation or humanitarian reasons or to Vietnamese citizens who meet with exceptionally difficult circumstances or are at risk, under specific decisions of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

h/ Vietnamese permanently residing in China, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.

II. FEE LEVELS

1. The consular fee levels are specified in the Consular Fee Table promulgated together with this Circular and shall be applied at all foreign-based diplomatic missions or consulates of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. The consular fees shall be collected in US dollar (USD) or in local currencies which are converted from USD at the exchange rates set by banks where the Vietnamese representative missions open their accounts and kept stable for 6 months. Basing itself on the table of consular fee levels in USD enclosed with this Circular, the Foreign Affairs Ministry shall, within 30 days after the effective date of this Circular, have to supply to the Finance Ministry tables of consular fee levels in currencies of host countries where the Vietnamese diplomatic missions are based. Within 6 months after the Foreign Affairs Ministry supplies the above-said fee tables, if exchange rates fluctuate (increase or decrease) by more than 20%, the heads of the representative missions must report such to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Finance Ministry for consideration and resetting of the fee levels in local currencies, which shall also be kept stable according to such principle.

III. ORGANIZATION OF FEE COLLECTION, REMITTANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The consular fee-collecting agencies shall be the foreign-based Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates directly providing organizations and individuals with State management-related services at the latter’s requests or according to the provisions of law. The consular fee-collecting agencies have the responsibilities:

- To organize the fee collection and remittance strictly according to the provisions of this Circular; to post up or publicly notify the fee levels at places of collection. When collecting and remitting fees, they must make and issue receipts to the fee payers according to current regulations. Fee collection invoices shall be printed and distributed at foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions according to the set form prescribed in Appendix 4 to this Circular (not printed herein).

- To open accounting books for monitoring and reflecting the collection, the fee amounts remitted into the State budget, and the management of use of fee amounts strictly according to the prescribed regime.

- The Foreign Affairs Ministry may deduct 30% of the total of actually collected consular fee amount before remitting the remainder into the State budget for spending according to the contents prescribed in this Circular. The remainder (70%) shall be monthly (on the 25th of each month at the latest) remitted by the collecting agencies into the State budget’s custody fund according to the provisions of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 29/2000/TT-BTC of April 24, 2000 prescribing the management of the State budget’s custody funds at the foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions.

IN. USE OF COLLECTED FEES

The Foreign Affairs Ministry may use the retained 30% of the collected fee amount (which constitutes a non-business revenue of the unit, and is not reflected into the State budget) for the following spending contents:

1. Purchase of blank passports and prints, and payment of expenses related to the fee collection (transport freight, declaration forms, printing of invoices and forms, office stationery, telephone and facsimile charges, postage, etc.).

2. After subtracting the expenses mentioned at Point 1, the remainder shall be distributed as follows:

2.1. 1/3 thereof shall be used to fund the regular repairs or overhauls of assets and renovation of machinery and equipment of the foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions.

2.2. 2/3 thereof shall be spent on:

- Allowances and pays for over-time work (including rush work, work under pressure of time) of officials involved in collection activities.

- Setting up of reward fund and welfare fund at the average per-head annual level not exceeding three month’s actually paid cost-of-living allowance.

- Regulation of incomes among the foreign-based representative missions and encouragement of locality policy toward officials working at home and overseas offices.

3. The Foreign Affairs Ministry shall base itself on the characteristics of each locality and annual practical situation to regulate incomes and encourage the locality policy, and report the implementation thereof to the Finance Ministry.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry shall have to manage and use the retained fee amount for the above-said purposes, with lawful vouchers and make annual revenue-expenditure settlements. After making settlements according to regulations, the retained fee amount not used up in a year may be carried forward to the subsequent year for further spending according to regulations.

V. SETTLEMENT OF FEE REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES

1. Foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions shall have to open accounting books for recording and accounting the fee revenue and expenditure amounts strictly according to the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 999/TC/QD/CDKT of November 2, 1996 promulgating the system of administrative and non-business accounting regimes.

2. The Foreign Affairs Ministry shall have to examine and certify the consular fee revenue and expenditure settlements of the foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions (Appendix 1, not printed herein) and incorporate them in the annual settlement reports to be sent to the Finance Ministry for appraisal (Appendices 2 and 3, not printed herein) and notification of approval of such settlements together with the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s settlement of funding for the foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions.

3. The Foreign Affairs Ministry shall have to coordinate with the Finance Ministry in organizing periodical inspection of the foreign-based Vietnamese representative missions in order to ensure that revenues and expenditures are effected according to prescribed regime.

VI. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 99/2002/TT-BTC of October 25, 2002 guiding the regime of collection, remittance, management and use of fees to be applied at the foreign-based Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates.

2. The Foreign Affairs Ministry shall guide the foreign-based Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consulates to collect, remit and use the consular fees according to the provisions of this Circular.

3. Organizations and individuals liable to pay the consular fees and the concerned agencies shall have to implement this Circular.

For the Finance Minister

Vice Minister

LE THI BANG TAM

CONSULAR FEE TABLE

(Promulgated together with the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 134/2004/TT-BTC

of December 31, 2004)

Ordinal number

List

Fee levels (USD)

A

Fees for granting passports and visas

1

Passports:

Granting of new ones

50

Extension

20

Supplementation, amendment or sticking of children’s photos

10

Re-granting in replacement of damaged or lost ones

100

2

Laissez-passers:

a/ Laissez-passers:

Granting of new ones

20

Extension

10

Re-granting in replacement of damaged or lost ones

30

b/ Repatriation laissez-passers:

Granting of new ones

100

Re-granting in replacement of damaged or lost ones

120

3

Visas of all kinds:

a/ Those for single entry, entry and exit or transit

25

b/ Those for multiple entry and exit

- Valid for under one month

40

- Valid for less than six months

70

- Valid for between six months and one year

100

c/ Transfer of valid visas from old passports to new passports

10

4

Granting of AB stamps (for general passports holders on official duties)

10

B

Other fees:

1

For authentication of contracts

50

2

For authentication of testaments, authorization letters, document excerpts, duplicates or copies of papers, documents and translations

5

3

For legalization of papers, documents (per one paper, one document or one title)

5

4

For forwarding of judicial mandate dossiers. For verification of papers and documents (freight excluded)

15

5

For granting or authentication of papers or documents related to ships, airplanes and other transport means

10

6

For compilation of dossiers and carrying out of procedures for inheriting property:

a/ For keeping testaments; publication of testaments; notarization of written agreements on property division; notarization of written declarations of inheritance; notarization of written renunciations of inheritances

10

b/ For inheritance property valued at under USD 1,000

50

c/ For inheritance property valued at USD 1,000 or more

2% of the inheritance value, not exceeding USD 2,500

7

For granting of citizen registration certificates

5

8

Consular “certification” fees

a/ For certification of seals, signatures

USD 1/document

b/ For certification of seals, signatures and contents of documents

USD 2/document

9

Consular certification at citizens’ requests

C

Nationality fees

For naturalization

150

For nationality restoration

150

For granting of nationality relinquishment

150

For granting of nationality certificate

35

For granting of nationality loss certificate

35

D

Civil status registration fees

1

Birth certification

For birth certification registration

5

For late birth certification registration

5

For birth re-registration

10

2

Marriage

For marriage registration

50

For marriage re-registration

100

3

Death certification

For late death certification registration

5

For death certification registration

10

4

Child adoption

For child adoption registration

100

For child adoption re-registration

200

5

Recognition of parents or children

For registration of recognition of parents or children

100

6

Correction of family names, given names, middle names, dates of birth

For registration of correction of family names, given names, middle names, dates of birth

50

7

Other civil status registrations

- For granting copies of civil status papers from original books

USD 1/copy

- For granting of certification of papers for carrying out procedures for marriage registration, child adoption, guardianship at foreign competent agencies

50

- For granting of other civil status papers

5

- For recording in books of civil status changes due to marriages, child adoption, divorces and termination of child adoption already registered with foreign competent agencies

5

- For re-registration of civil status-related events occurring in foreign countries, which have already been registered by competent agencies of such countries for Vietnamese citizens

5

E

Some other regulations:

1

Collection of charges for rush work and overtime work other than the above-specified fees (when dossiers are valid, except for Section D, Point 3), surcharges

a/ Within a day (24 hours), surcharge:

30%

b/ Within a day and a half (36 hours), surcharge:

20%

c/ Overtime work, work after dossier-receiving hours, in holidays, surcharge:

30%

2

Collected fees shall not be reimbursed even if involved parties refuse to receive back their completed dossiers